Last night was the opening of the Blue Mountains Portrait Prize at the Cultural Centre, Katoomba, NSW. It was SO packed that I did a lap and walked out.
This is my portrait of Susan Templeman, Federal Member for Macquarie. She is a wonderful community person, works so hard for our region and was one of the families that lost their house in the 2013 bushfires here in the Blue Mountains. She tells me she has only recently returned back to their house after it was rebuilt.
She visited me at one of the markets a couple of years ago and shared the impact of the bushfires on her family. Her son was the only one at home and they instructed him to get out. Later, once all safe, Susan remarked to her husband, ‘Lucky you didn’t get more chooks’ as they had recently all of theirs. He had apparently replenished the chook house so they didn’t survive. This struck a chord for me, someone who has a lot of chooks and pets. The bushfires not only devastate families but animals too.
To see that Susan and her family soldiered on despite losing all is incredible. To get up each day, not having your possessions, regular comfy clothes, all those things we take for granted. To get up and go to work each day, be thankful for donated items so that you can cook, sleep, clean in a space that isn’t your home. To be in and out of Canberra in the political arena, but not have your world around you, now that is pretty special.
Doing a portrait of a person is something that doesn’t really sit comfortably with me. I had approached the Cultural Centre asking if it ‘had to be a person’ as the rules didn’t actually state that. I think they were surprised about the question! I thanked them and said I wouldn’t enter. I like drawing birds and animals, it’s familiar to me. But then, you should push yourself and that’s what I did. I did a quick sketch of what I’d like to do and submitted it. I was surprised that they said yes!
I have gone on to do Paul Keating, Whitlam, Hawke, Gillard and – a popular one – Penny Wong. I have more politicians to do down the track. As I create them, I get a bit squeamish. What if I get it completely wrong? Some portraits I drop, thinking I’ll come back to them later. Some have really obvious features you can play with – people will recognise them.
It was a fun experience. Perhaps I’ll enter other things down the track…
Last night was the opening of the Blue Mountains Portrait Prize at the Cultural Centre, Katoomba, NSW. It was SO packed that I did a lap and walked out.
This is my portrait of Susan Templeman, Federal Member for Macquarie. She is a wonderful community person, works so hard for our region and was one of the families that lost their house in the 2013 bushfires here in the Blue Mountains. She tells me she has only recently returned back to their house after it was rebuilt.
She visited me at one of the markets a couple of years ago and shared the impact of the bushfires on her family. Her son was the only one at home and they instructed him to get out. Later, once all safe, Susan remarked to her husband, ‘Lucky you didn’t get more chooks’ as they had recently all of theirs. He had apparently replenished the chook house so they didn’t survive. This struck a chord for me, someone who has a lot of chooks and pets. The bushfires not only devastate families but animals too.
To see that Susan and her family soldiered on despite losing all is incredible. To get up each day, not having your possessions, regular comfy clothes, all those things we take for granted. To get up and go to work each day, be thankful for donated items so that you can cook, sleep, clean in a space that isn’t your home. To be in and out of Canberra in the political arena, but not have your world around you, now that is pretty special.
Doing a portrait of a person is something that doesn’t really sit comfortably with me. I had approached the Cultural Centre asking if it ‘had to be a person’ as the rules didn’t actually state that. I think they were surprised about the question! I thanked them and said I wouldn’t enter. I like drawing birds and animals, it’s familiar to me. But then, you should push yourself and that’s what I did. I did a quick sketch of what I’d like to do and submitted it. I was surprised that they said yes!
I have gone on to do Paul Keating, Whitlam, Hawke, Gillard and – a popular one – Penny Wong. I have more politicians to do down the track. As I create them, I get a bit squeamish. What if I get it completely wrong? Some portraits I drop, thinking I’ll come back to them later. Some have really obvious features you can play with – people will recognise them.
It was a fun experience. Perhaps I’ll enter other things down the track…